Kumra Chronicles
by Krimson Kane
Summary: With fate bringing two unlikely characters together, Kane and Allora soon find themselves making their way through the land of Kumra, overcoming corruption and the many foes laid before them. One with much experience and one with little to none, they soon begin their epic journey and discover more about each other and themselves than they ever knew, or dreamed of knowing.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: The creation of this story actually took place a while ago, with myself and Allora Silverfield writing it together. Both of us decided to go ahead and start posting it. The two of us wrote it for fun, not expecting it to be that special.**

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Kane sat there in the tavern of the small town with a journal laid out in front of him. The tavern, being dubbed 'The Black Swan', wasn't very lively at the time. Kane was scribbling down a few notes with an open satchel of random ingredients that he had received as payment for clearing out a basement filled with rats. It was menial work, and to be frank, was tedious, having to run around in his beast form snatching up rats with his teeth. They tasted awful.

The Black Swan was run by a group of mercenaries, who essentially ran the entire town of Fallen Oak. They were also literally called The Black Swan Mercenaries, making people wonder if they got the tavern name after their organization, or if they got the name of their organization from their tavern. Jobs were posted inside the tavern, nailed on a board that looked like it had been ripped off of a wooden cart, hanging up behind the bar counter. It was a little bare at the moment.

The mercenary agency, consisting of almost entirely humans, was like a family to him (or at least somewhat of a family.) He was the only person allowed to take up jobs that wasn't officially apart of the agency, being good friends with the leader, Samuel Trats. Samuel was actually the one who had gave Kane his start, bestowing him with black leather armor with their symbol on the back of it, being, of course, a black swan. They might not have been that original, but they certainly got the job done.

Kane stopped writing down notes, letting out a lonely sigh.

Allora trotted out of the woods, the scent of the city assaulting her muzzle as she exited the tree line. She made a bee line for a loud, wooden building near the edge of the small town, and morphed into her anthro form. She quickly adjusted her green scarf around herself to cover her body, self conscious about her nudity in her anthro form. The scarf wrapped around her body, covering her breasts, privates, and buttocks. It wrapped around her neck, forming an X over her chest, and then wrapping around her back to cover her behind, then coming in-between her legs, crossing again in front of her belly button and tying to the front. When she was satisfied with its look, she turned and headed down the alleyway.

It was little known that tight alleys contained the best treasure, often being dropped and lost in the shadow. But with her exceptional night vision, it wasn't hard for the fox-girl to spot the shiny objects on the ground. She collected what she could, trying to estimate in her head how much coin she could sell the trinkets for. A necklace here, some mismatched earrings there, and even a few copper pieces. Nothing worth too much, but maybe enough to get her a room for the night out of the winter cold.

As she collected the trinkets, she had a strange feeling that she was being watched. It was hard for her to tell, the noises from The Black Swan tavern were too loud for her to pick anything in particular out. Until it was too late, that was.

"Hey sweet cheeks," said a scratchy voice from behind her.

A man holding a bottle of something amber was stumbling towards her, holding out a hand. "Why don't you be good now and come along with me."

She hissed in response, backing down the alley. Her ear twitched and turned, hearing noise from behind her. Two more men appeared from the darkness, one holding a small knife, and the other a broken bottle.

"Oh now, don't make this difficult sweetheart," said the first man again, now holding a knife. They approached her from all sides, and she spun in circles, trying to get the best angle to escape.

"I'm sure you'll fetch a pretty penny from the Handlers," another man spat, referencing the underground sexual slave trading organization evilly.

Suddenly, Allora shifted into her beast form, landing on all fours and attempting to escape between the first man's legs, but he caught hold of her scarf, at the same time cracking the bottle down on her head, breaking it on her skull.

"Yipe!" Allora cried, unintelligibly, even in beast speak. It was a cry of pain.

The man held her up by her scarf, choking her. "A pretty price..." he whispered, and they carried her further into the city.

Kane's ears folded back in irritation with the sound of one of the mercenaries falling off a table with a flagon gripped in his hand. He put his hand up to his head, trying to focus on writing his notes, only to get more frustrated when he heard someone fall out of their chair. Unable to bare the annoyance of the mercenaries, Kane slide his journal into his satchel filled with ingredients, fumbling over his own fingers as he tried to close it. With his sword hooked to his side, he got up from the table.

Almost the instant he stood up, he was called out to.

"Kane!" a mercenary yelled. "Buy the next round!"

Kane wanted to ignore them, but was too kind to give them the cold shoulder.

"Apologies," he said with a forced laugh. "I just remembered I had something to do."

"Yo, Kane!"

He stopped just before exiting. It was hard to hide his displeasure by the way his ears were folded back. Kane turned his head, seeing Samuel Trats standing there.

"Have you considered my offer?" he asked him. Kane just shrugged, trying his best to get out of there. He wanted to be alone.

"I just don't think I'm ready for any kind of commitment." he told him honestly. "As much as I'd like to join, I just don't want to think about getting tied down."

Samuel just nodded.

"I understand." he responded. "Just remember my offer is still on the table."

Kane turned with his tail behind him slightly waving side to side as he left the tavern.

The afternoon air smelt fresh, getting a whiff of the nearby forest. He closed his eyes with his ears still folded back partially.

"Yipe!"

Kane's ears perked up, hearing the sound of distress. He felt his heart rate increase from hearing sadistic laughter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a few men exit the Alley closest to the Black Swan.

Not even caring if they were making a scene, the men walked briskly past him. They paid him no mind, acting as if they were doing no wrong, holding what appeared to be a black fox by a scarf. Perhaps it was the shock that made him refrain from taking rash action so suddenly.

As they took the fox away, he continued to watch them, laughing among themselves. Kane's ears folded back down, refusing to stand by and not do anything.

"Hey!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, doing his best to get their attention.

Allora's ears twitched towards a new voice, a voice that was yelling towards the group of men carrying her off. She tried to say something, but couldn't manage a sound, her air supply almost completely cut off. The men carrying her turned towards the voice, which she instantly recognized as another furry. She started flailing around, attempting to get free, anything to make them drop her on the ground.

"Stop it you," said the man holding her, and he gripped the scarf tighter, with both hands this time, the knife dangerously close to her ears. His breath stank of alcohol.

She stopped squirming, more because the scarf had completely cut off her air. She was suffocating.

"What do you want, wolf," said the man coldly, directing it towards the white and grey furry.

Kane's eyes dilated, gritting his teeth in anger.

"That fox doesn't belong to you." he told them. "I suggest you let go. Now."

He placed his hand on the handle of his sword, letting the three men know he was serious about taking action. They looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Come on," the man suffocating the fox told him, as if begging for him to gain some sense. "Even a tail chaser like yourself should have a little more brains than to think you could take on three men by yourself."

Kane glared at them, showing off his teeth. "Last warning." he growled. "Let. Go. Now."

The man with the fox dangling from the scarf took a step forward from the other two men. He raised the fox up with one hand, bouncing the poor thing up and down.

"And what the fuck do you think you're going to d-"

The man was cut off in mid sentence, trying to take a step back from the rushing anthropomorphic wolf who's hand was on his sword. Before the man with the fox had time to finish his sentence, Kane had unsheathed his sword while at the same time had sliced through the man's neck. He dropped the fox along with his head tumbling down. His lifeless body hit the ground with the two other men taking a fighting stance.

Allora hit the ground with a thud, blood spattering the ground around her and on her body. She stood, limping a little on her back leg, and gasping for air. She blinked, trying to recover her vision that she had been losing, and she looked around her. Next to her, the anthro wolf had sliced the drunk man's head clean off. Shocked, she looked at the ground next to her, seeing the head, eyes wide open, mouth gaping, speaking silent words.

She attempted to take a few steps, and fell again, still weak from blood loss. The wolf-man was now squaring up to the other two traffickers, with her in between. She tried to stand again, to get out of the middle of the fray.

One of the men stepped closer to her, and grabbed her scruff, jerking her roughly off the ground. "Let's just get out of here Carl..." he began.

The wolf man growled, and he swallowed, putting his knife up to her throat. "C-come any closer and... and I'll..." His hand trembled, clearly not committed to what he was saying.

The strain on her neck was becoming unbearable, Allora whined unintentionally.

Kane's breathing became heavy and his eyes still dilated. His growling soon turned into a spine-tingling bark. The two men began to tremble, still with the fox having a knife to her neck. Kane swung his sword with a trail of blood from the drunken man he'd just killed flinging down onto the ground, making a crimson line. The blood dripped from his sword with him intensely staring the two men down.

"YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS TO DROP THAT FOX AND GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" he roared, baring his teeth as he did so.

Heavily, Allora dropped to the ground again, this time not catching herself. She landed on her side with her limp leg, and cried out again. She lay down, watching the two men run for what was probably their lives. She couldn't role over, couldn't even think about it, her neck and leg simply hurt too bad. She could see her green scarf lying on the ground next to her, having fallen from her neck when she was dropped the first time.

She pushed herself up onto her front legs, and weakly grabbed the scarf in her teeth, pulling it closer to her body. And then she lay back down on it, like a pillow.

The wolf man made his way around her body, until she could see him clearly for the first time. He wore some sort of black armor, that contrasted greatly with his snow white fur. In his paws was some sort of sword, stained crimson. He stood over her, looking down. He had broad shoulders and muscular legs, and was truly intimidating.

That was the last thing she remembered before she blacked out.

After sheathing his sword, Kane knelt beside her, seeing just how badly hurt she was. Being as careful as possible, he reached down and picked her up gently. Holding her with one hand, he managed to grab her scarf with the other. He stood up, already with people pointing and crying out at the bloody scene that had taken place. Nobody dared do anything about it, considering Kane's obvious connections with the Black Swan. They all watched him head back towards the tavern, already with mercenaries pouring out with weapons one their sides. They saw Kane, confused as to why he was carrying a black fox. One of the mercenaries was eying the headless body.

"Damn, Kane," the mercenary said, who was slightly drunk at the time. "What'd you do?"

Kane ignored him, passing through them and entering the tavern. He held the fox close to him, holding the back of her head as a support with the scarf still in it. He headed through a doorway, entering the room that was his.

Kane set the fox down on his bed, lying her on her side carefully. He rested her scarf down beside her, sitting on the bed next to her. He let out a sigh, he opened his satchel and pulling out his journal.

He began to write once again.


	2. Chapter 2

Her eyes opened slowly, the gray light of early morning shining through the window.

Window?

Then, her eyes were wide open. She jumped to her feet, startled, only to collapse back on the bed from pain. She scanned the room frantically, her eyes darting back and forth. What had happened? She thought back…

She remembered getting mugged... and a severed head, and some men running... and a wolf anthro…

She lifted her head, looking behind her. Still sitting up, leaning against the bed frame, was a white wolf-man, sleeping.

She couldn't decide whether to be terrified or thankful, so she settled for staring wide eyed at the impressively intimidating wolf.

She stared and stared as only a fox could do, finally deciding that he wasn't going to wake any time soon. She slowly morphed back into her anthro form, so she could more easily assess her wounds. When she was fully transformed, she became hyper aware that her scarf was missing. She glanced around the room frantically, rocking the bed as she searched.

The wolf-man on the bed moaned, and his eyes fluttered. Allora's eyes widened in terror, and she covered herself as best she could with her hands as she watched in horror as he woke.

Kane's eyes opened with his vision slightly blurred from the sleep still in his eyes. He sat up on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes in a half awake daze. Out of the corner of his eye was a dark figure, making him frightened. He jumped, accidentally falling over on his side. He landed on the floor with a hard thump. He blinked rapidly, soon with his mouth hung open. Seeing a half naked fox-woman, standing there as she attempted to shield her breasts and between her legs.

The longer he stared, the more he became aroused. Despite the millions of things he could have said or asked, he instead stared shamelessly with his mouth agape.

Shyly, tail between her legs covering herself, arms crossed over her chest, Allora walked backwards towards where she had found her scarf, draped over a chair in the corner. Not taking her eyes off of the wolf, she took the scarf and wrapped it once around her neck, and quickly shifted into her beast form, instantly more comfortable and less embarrassed.

"Who are you?" she asked in beast speak, eyes still trained on the strange man. Her legs felt weak still, but she remained standing, even taking a step closer, boldly. Her tail swished side to side warily. She pretended not to notice his muscles, nor his obvious erection.

Kane watched as she shifted into a fox form, finally putting the pieces of what was going on together. He nervously swallowed, picturing her naked still in an anthro figure. He felt his chest tremble.

"K-Kane," he told her. That was it. Even his best attempt to explain what had happened was met with 'Um's and awkward silence. It didn't help that he was still hard.

Allora walked over to him, looking up curiously. "Why would you do that just to save me?" she asked. A complete stranger risking their life to save her was not something she could overlook.

He most likely wanted something out of her. "I can handle myself," she muttered under her breath, glancing to her right, avoiding eye contact.

Kane sat up, sitting with his legs crossed. Still awkward considering the fact that he had seen her practically naked, he did his best to keep a calm disposition.

"S-sorry..." he told her, swallowing nervously, almost pleading with his body to stop having an erection. "I didn't mean to upset you- I really didn't! You were just- they were going to-"

Kane stopped talking, turning his head away from her. He couldn't bare to stare at her any longer. He had never felt more foolish in his entire life.

"Please forgive me if I have upset you..." he told her sounding a bit defeated.

She looked at him curiously, not sure if she should be offended or feel bad for him. There weren't very many genuine people left in the world, and she wasn't about to believe he was one of them.

But then again, he had saved her, for whatever reason, and she did feel as if she owed him in some way... And judging by his... situation, he wanted that to be sexual. Not being a whore by any means, Allora wasn't about to give herself to some guy she had practically just met. She pondered, looking at his body once again. Strong muscles, well fed, he wasn't starving by any means, especially not like her, who scrounged for trinkets to sell to pay for meals, or hunted in the wild. During the winter, hunting was essentially pointless anyway.

"What exactly is it that you do..." she asked carefully. How did he make his coin? If he made decent money, maybe she could see if she could help him out... at least for a little while.

Kane blinked, finding her question a bit random. He cleared his throat, trying to not be so awkward, playing dumb about the raging erection he had.

"I do a lot of things." Kane told her, almost immediately wishing he could rephrase that. He had to continue with it regardless. "I take random jobs that people need done."

Kane's ears folded back, fearing he was making a bad impression, getting self conscious.

"For example," he told her, doing his best to seem like he wasn't awkward, "I had to escort an alchemist to the lake today. I made sure he wasn't attacked by any of the bandits that like to hide in the forest. Luckily everything was fine. He paid me with some ingredients and a little bit of gold. A lot more than I would have expected, actually."

He felt like he had just told the worst story of his life.

"Oh, and I killed some rats today in someone's basement!"

….Shit….

He sighed, lowering his head in defeat once again.

"I will literally do anything, in exception for things I find morally wrong, for payment." he told her honestly. "I've been a hired sword, killed people, fought in small wars, you name it. A lot of my work has been a bit...bloody, but not all of it. I sometimes do small stuff."

He sat there, avoiding eye contact.

It was Allora's turn to stutter. "... well if you'd like... I mean... I don't have anything to do..." She stumbled over her words. "Do you ever need help? I am indebted to you." She lowered her head, things weren't usually awkward with her. Nothing made her awkward, except for this situation for some reason. Didn't help that he had just seen her practically naked…

"I can help out, I mean, I don't have much, but I'm pretty good with my words, and I'm quick and small…"

Kane's ears perked up a bit, surprised by the simple fact she had humbled herself, even after his stupid stories. There was a lump in his throat that wouldn't leave him be, along with his erection he couldn't seem to shake off (no pun intended.) He continued to sit there on the floor as he looked at the fox in front of him, seeing her peculiar shyness.

"Help is always appreciated," he told her. "Not to mention company."

His eyes widened, worried that he had misspoke.

"I mean, not like THAT kind of company! I didn't mean it to sound- erm…." He looked away again with his ears comply folded back. Even behind his white fur, he was clearly blushing.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her randomly, still hiding his face.

She couldn't help but giggle to herself. "I am," she began, "I just fear that my legs would make it hard for me to move any distance... unless I remained in my beast form, or you brought food here..." She thought for a moment. "Is there not a minor healer in the tavern? Well... forget it, I forgot how expensive they are..." she sighed, and sat on the ground, swishing her tail around her front paws.

"I'll just follow you... Kane, was it?"

Kane's attitude changed from being worried of his self imagine from worried about the black fox in front of him.

"Y-yeah," he told her with a nod of his head. "My name's Kane."

She looked still a bit roughed up, with Kane not even thinking about getting her scars and bruises looked at during the time of her rescue. Kane thought about it, still sitting cross legged on the floor, putting his hand to his chin as he contemplated. His tail slowly swept across the floor from side to side, as it normally did when he was deep in thought. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.

"Jules," he said to himself. "Jules knows how to patch up wounds better than anyone I know. She's one of the mercenaries apart from the Black Swan agency. She's probably upstairs fixing up some of the injured mercs…. Oh, sorry, I forgot. I've been working in the business for too long to remember that not many people know our terminology. Merc is short for mercenary. As for food…" Kane went on to explain, standing up with a leap, as if excited that he were now able to help without feeling completely embarrassed. "I've got some fresh food I bought this morning if you're interested."

Stepping over towards the corner of his room, he bent over, opening a personal chest of his. He reached inside, pulling out a tan color sac that had a stitch woven into it, showing just how old the reusable bag was. Kane set the bag down on the bed, hurrying towards his room door.

"I'll be right back!" he told her, rushing out.

At the sound of the word "food," Allora felt her stomach growl violently. She winced, and hoped that Kane hadn't heard. But he was too excited. He soon bounded off of the ground and sprinted out the door.

With the door now closed, Allora stood and shifted back into her anthro form, wrapping her scarf neatly around her. The silky material was opaque, so one layer of it was enough to completely cover her body without being see through. And it was long enough to wrap her completely in a leotard-like garb. She made her way over to the bed and examined the brownish bag. She bent over it, and her nose picked up the aroma of fresh food. Immediately, she started to salivate.

'He offered it to me, right?' she thought, staring at the bag. Making a decision she hoped she wouldn't regret, she opened the bag and began to search through it. She found some dried strips of some kind of meat, some fresh bread, and a couple oranges. Eagerly, she tore into them, her empty stomach aching in pain from receiving its first real nourishment in months. But she ignored it, and kept eating.

"I don't see why you care so much a fox." Jules sighed, having been taken from upstairs. Kane was a little upset by his comment.

"She isn't JUST a fox," he told her. "I just want to make sure she's okay."

"Whatever you say..." Jules groaned, clearly under-slept. He opened Kane's door, seeing Allora in her anthro form. Her figure, only being covered by her scarf, was fairly revealing as she was seen shoving food in her face with her back turned towards them. Staring at her ass, Jules whistled.

Allora heard a whistle from behind her... well... behind. She turned, mouth stuffed with food, to see Kane standing with another woman, being an anthromorphic orange cat. She had on clothes that were clean but stained, having seen their fair share of injuries in the past. Her hair was in a harsh ponytail, with her larger-than-average ears seeming even bigger due to its slicked back nature. And she was the one whistling.

Allora was by no means shy, and confident about her figure, especially her backside, as long as she was mostly covered. She was just surprised that it was a woman doing the whistling. But she didn't mind. She turned her stuffed cheeks back around and swallowed what was in her mouth, her stomach still crying for more.

"You must be Jules," she stated, still facing the opposite wall, watching out the window. She heard the woman pad up beside her.

"What happened to you?" she asked, eying Allora's body, eyes lingering on her swollen wrist and ankle.

Allora briefly recapped what had happened that day behind the Black Swan, as she nodded and listened, poking and prodding at different joints as she talked.

"And then I woke up here this morning, extremely sore." Her stomach growled. "And hungry."

"Well, the best I can do right now is splint your wrist, wrap your ankle, and hope for the best," the healer said, finally. "You should try to stay in your anthro form for the next few days at least, Your ankle isn't too bad, but your wrist is clearly broken."

Allora's heart sunk. Well, at least now she was getting that practice that she had needed in her anthro form in the first place. Sighing, she nodded.

"She should be fine," Jules said to Kane, and she made her way back over towards him.

Kane stood there with his hands by his sides as Jules left, doing his best not to ogle over her body. Her curves and her butt were almost impossible to not stare at. He found myself eying her body, unable to look away. It were as if he were in a daze. A small smile grew on his face with his thoughts drifted off into more 'unclean' areas.

"Thank you so much," Allora said to Jules. The cat anthromorph nodded her head curtly, and left the room. Finally, she glanced at Kane, who was nearly drooling on the floor. She cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed.

She knew that she would have to remain in her anthro form for at least the next week, so she wanted to make sure she was fully covered most of the time.

"Do you think we could go into town and grab me some... armor? Or at least some more clothes," she asked shyly.

Kane shook his head, snapping out of his perverted stare. He cleared his throat as well, doing his best to play off the awkwardness of the moment.

"Um, uh...yeah...yeah...sorry, I-"

Kane quit talking, getting a little angry at himself for being so perverse. He forced himself to gain composure and to keep a straight face.

"Naturally." he told her with a nod. "Anything you want- I mean need- I mean-"

Kane once again stopped, letting out a frustrated and sad sigh.

"Please forgive me." he apologized. "It's been a really long time since I've had company of any sort. Let alone company that's-" he swallowed nervously, knowing he'd regret admitting this. "-so attractive."

He avoided eye contact, motioning towards the door.

"Let's get you something to wear..." he said meekly, opening the door with head lowered.


	3. Chapter 3

((Kane and I have started a Skype for fans, the account name is in the new update on his profile, go check it out! Silverfield))

Allora accepted that she was to be called attractive, having many others feel the same way about her, wherever she went. Though she was slightly more flattered that the mysterious, attractive wolf himself was doing the complimenting. She smiled slightly to herself, but remembered... what was Jake going to think? She pushed that out of her head immediately, and headed out the door with Kane.

The two made their way into town, down into the market. It was full of small shops and antique stores, trinkets, items with 'magical' properties, you name it. There were a few clothing stores, but Allora looked at what Kane was wearing, and realized she might need something more than just fabric.

"So... I should probably get some armor right?" she asked. "I don't really know how to shop for that," she said sheepishly, tugging at her scarf which graced her body just barely. She could see Kane's eyes on her chest.

Kane realized Allora noticed him staring at her chest. Doing his best to make a smooth recovery, he quickly looked over to a stall that was behind her.

"What lovely fish..." He said, as the fish salesman behind her tried his best to get the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Kane sighed, putting his hand on the back of his neck, feeling himself blush.

"Anyway," he told her trying to change the subject, "when you shop for armor, you need to know what it is that you're REALLY looking for and what would suit you the best. For instance-"

Kane stopped in front of her, touching his torso (and secretly trying to flex his muscles in front of her.)

"What I'm wearing is reenforced, high grade leather armor. You can't just buy this stuff- not cheap at least, and certainly not around here. Every kind of armor though has it's difficulties that you learn to adapt with. Some armor protect you better, though are more of a pain to walk in and to move around, so we can rule out anything made of steel or metal plating. Leather would most likely work best for you, or you could invest in some enchanted robes that shield you with magic. They're a little more expensive, but I know a guy who sells some at discounted price. Or if you just want to stick to something basic, we could try finding some regular leather armor around here. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to let me know. It's your body after all and- um…."

Kane found himself staring at her body once more, finding himself getting aroused. He quickly shook his head.

"Get your shit together!" he thought to himself. He looked away, knowing for a fact that he had been caught ogling her once again.

Being one for fashion, Allora knew that robes covering her ENTIRE figure wouldn't suffice. "I think we should go with some leather... Maybe something with an emblem, or pattern! Ooh do we get to pick out shoes?!" She felt herself getting unprofessionally girly at the thought of shopping, and composed herself. "Uh, I mean, lead the way, Kane," she huffed, controlling her excitement.

The two made their way down through the market even further, Kane taking her away from the more common areas for shopping and deeper into the warriors district. Less food... more weaponry. Allora grinned to herself, feeling anticipatory.

Ebony's were normally highly trained in combat. Allora of course had left the Brimstone line when she was young, so her own clan had not had the opportunity to train her. She was only able to meet and learn very little from the Ebony's that came into the city, clad in black leather armor with throwing knives and daggers. The pure black Ebony's... Allora's tail twitched, worrying for a second that someone could see her white tip. But she had put charcoal dust on it just a couple days prior, so she knew it was hidden.

The two reached a leather smith, a stout human man with bushy red facial hair. He was hanging up some kind of animal skin to be tanned, and didn't notice the two furries approach. Allora, having no idea what kinds of questions to ask, looked expectantly at Kane. "Well?" she questioned.

Kane cleared his throat as the burly man carefully focused on stitching a piece of his armor, embroidering a symbol on it. His straggly beard was unkempt, clearly in need of a trim. He turned his head, finally noticing the white wolf standing before him. He didn't even notice Allora at first.

"Hello," he said with even his voice sounding manly. It was like he was had gargled nails and flossed with sandpaper. "How might I assist you, sir?"

"I not the one in need of assistance" Kane told him kindly. He motioned towards Allora with the armor dealer's eyes widening.

"Certainly a beautiful lass." he said without missing a beat. He began to laugh to himself. "I wouldn't mind a poke for myself, but I wouldn't want to toss fur that wasn't mine."

He winked at Kane. After such a bold statement, Kane couldn't help but stare back at the man, then glance over to Allora awkwardly.

"You misunderstand," he explained to him, "we're not-"

"Now, lass," the smith said setting down his current project, completely cutting Kane off. "What is it that you'd like? Something regal? Something sturdy?"

He looked at Kane once again. "Maybe something a little revealing to give your pup somethin' to stare at?" he finished, having a hearty chuckle. Kane's face was practically beat red at this point, even behind his white fur.

"Her and I aren't-"

"So what'll it be, Lass?" the smith asked once again, cutting off Kane for a second time. Kane put his hand on his face, feeling uncomfortable.

"Something black," was all she could say. She really had no more ideas than the man asking her. "And something, leather?" she asked, hopeful.

"No problem, lassie. I think I have something here for you already made up," the man chuckled. He opened an older looking chest, a couple of them actually, and pulled out some pieces here and there. It wasn't until the fifth or sixth piece that she realized they were pieces of an armor set.

"Here you are, Lass, do you think these might fit 'ye?" he asked, handing her the pieces in an armful. She tried to take all of them out of his hands, but ended up dropping a few of them. She bent over at the waist, knowing very well what the two men were staring at as she did so. She decided to try on the leather britches first, to cover that right up and solve that issue. They fit perfectly, maybe a little tight over her backside, with a small slit for her tail to fit through.

The next was a chest piece, made with some give for her chest, and it also fit perfectly. The leather smith before her certainly had an eye for sizing bodies up. She smiled at the irony, and tried on the bracers.

Those fit as well as the gloves and shoulder pieces. The only thing she had an issue with were the boots, but it only took him one more try to get her size perfectly.

She had put the pieces on top of her scarf, so it was hidden beneath her new armor. She loved it... save for it being slightly plain. But she was happy with it, as long as it didn't cost too much. "How much do you think..." she began, looking at Kane worried. It really was fine armor.

The smith smiled at her, shrugging his broad shoulders. "For you," he said with a grin "I'll take ten gold. Wouldn't want your pup to pay too much."

The price alone was steep, even with the 'discount'. Kane regardless reached into his satchel, pulling out a sack of gold. He reached inside, pulling out ten pieces. It took him nearly an entire week of nothing but annoying errands to obtain it, but she was more than worth it. Besides, he couldn't risk her getting injured. He placed the gold in the smith's hands with a nod.

"There you go." Kane said with a grin. "Thank you."

"I should thank you" the smith said with a laugh. "I haven't had business all week."

Kane suddenly wondered if he had been tricked, but forced himself not to say anything. He looked at Allora with a smile, opening his mouth.

"Try not to undress her too much," the smith interrupted him before he could speak. "The armor won't do any good if it's not on her."

Kane looked uncomfortable again, letting out a sigh.

Allora smiled broadly and thanked the man, laughing lightly at his not-so-indirect jokes directed towards Kane. The two furries headed back down the street, Allora herself simply enjoying the weather.

And that's when she saw him, it was Jake. An Ebony like her who was dead set on claiming Allora as his own. One of the best warriors in the clan, he was also one of the most desirable by women. He stood with a group of his men, laughing loudly and slapping each other on the backs. Allora moved to subtly hide herself behind Kane's body, but it was too late.

"Hey, it's Allora!" he called before she could get out of view. She played it off well, coming back in sight like it was just the way they had been walking. Jake made his way over to her, whistling at the sight of her in her new armor.

"Not too shabby, baby, I was beginning to worry you would never start your training." Suddenly, roughly, he grabbed Allora on the waist and kissed her. She was so shocked, she didn't even move, keeping her eyes wide open and remaining paralyzed throughout the entire kiss.

He pulled away, grinning darkly. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time, though maybe next time you could reciprocate a little, hmm?" He let go of her waist, pushing her away from him as he did so. She stumbled backward, easily regaining her balance, but shocked at his behavior.

It was as if it was the first time she noticed Kane. "Who's the dog?" he asked rudely.

Allora swallowed. She knew Kane was an excellent fighter, but Jake was in a different class from petty criminals and thieves. He was one of if not the best warrior in Ebony for his age, and he knew it too. Two curved swords were his weapon of choice, and he fingered them at his sides loosely as he addressed the wolf.

Kane acted like he wasn't caught off guard by the kiss he had witnessed. There was a burning anger growing inside his chest, though remained fairly calm. His eyes met Jake's, only being greeted by a cocky look. The group of men he was with were untrained, undisciplined, inexperienced, and was obvious they wouldn't be able to handle themselves under pressure.

They would be easy enough to kill, though….

Kane looked over at Allora. Clearly she had no affection for this man. Or perhaps she did and hid it well. As much as he wanted his jealously to take over, he remembered that he had to control himself. Besides, it wasn't like him and Allora had any kind of future. A beautiful fox with a scarred up and dopey wolf? It was almost laughable.

"Forgive me," Kane told him, extending his hand like a gentleman. "I don't feel I've ever met you before. My name is Kane; I'm a Wolf. You might know me better as Vox Hunter."

Kane had built up somewhat of a reputation. Aside from slaughtering countless bandits and highwaymen, escorting a few members of royal blood, and even getting involved in a few wars, Kane was most known for stopping the "Vox Crisis"

Kane had single handedly sliced his way through a castle filled with undead. The body count of said resurrected was undetermined. Some say it was a thousand, some claimed it was a TEN thousand. The feat alone of cutting his way through and making his way to the top was considered almost legendary. What really made it memorable was the fight that accrued in the highest chamber. A rebellious military officer, Aaron Vox, had used the help of dark magic to conjure the dead and will them to do his bidding in a half attempt to overthrow the land.

Nobody really knows what happened in the castle in exception to rumors of an intense battle, but everyone reported seeing Kane walk out covered in blood, cuts, carrying a sword in one hand and the head of Vox in the other. He had received the nickname Vox Hunter after that. He never honestly liked it.

Another less memorable event was with Kane defending a small settlement against a bandit raid. He fought with the guards agasint a total of four bandit clans, easily being over a hundred in total. Kane's body count was undetermined, though it was agreed that without him the town wouldn't be standing. The children in the town after that decided to call him "Glass Eye Kane" (or just Glass Eye) after seeing his intense stare during the fighting, and for the few times he had actually picked up children to take them to safety. His stare was so strange they thought his eyes weren't real. It didn't take long for children to make the name stick. Even some adults called him that playfully. He didn't like that name either.

Kane waited for Jake to reach out and shake his hand, assuming he was going to in the first place.

Jake eyed his hand suspiciously, though after hearing who the wolf-man actually was, he sure didn't want to come off as disrespectful. He took it, shaking it cautiously. "Jake Blackriver. These are my men, Sean Blueskies, Cassius Goldenhills, and Tracy Greentree." The three men approached Kane and shook his hand as well, cautious more than anything.

Jake turned his attention back towards Allora, "And this is my woman, Allora Silverfield." He leaned in for another kiss, but this time, she turned her head.

"I am not yours, Jake, and I do not wish to be. How many times must I tell you?" she said firmly, turning back towards him, making eye contact.

His eyes narrowed. "To not want me... that's absurd." He looked her up and down, eyes lingering on her backside and breasts, then back at her eyes with disgust. "Sometimes I wonder if you are even true Ebony. Come on, let's go, we have business anyway." He took one last look at Kane, a mixture of fear and hatred in his eyes, then turned tail and headed back down the street.

Allora had never felt more like crying. Had he seen her white tips? She glanced back at her tail, but it was still black as ever. But her pride had been crushed. Not a real Ebony... it was one of the worst insults a member of her Clan could receive. She looked up at the sky, keeping her tears stagnant in her eyes, and blinked hard.

"Let's go..." she mumbled, and turned around, heading back up the street. "Lead the way," she said, though she was already several meters in front of Kane to begin with. Not caring, she continued down the road, unable to make eye contact with anyone.

Kane and Allora headed back towards the Tavern with Kane walking beside her. He had remained silent, not wanting to say anything that could upset her. They got closer to the Black Swan Tavern, seeing a drunk mercenary stumble outside with a flagon in hand. Kane was tempted to crack some sort of joke at his inebriation, but withheld it due to Allora's silence. The look on her face actually worried him. It felt like he was holding his breath trying to not ask for information.

The two of them entered the Black Swan Tavern, instantly being shouted at. "Hey you two!" Jules happy voice rang, as she was sitting at one of the tables. "Come over here!"

Kane sighed, politely heading over to the table. Jules was still clearly sober, but the flagon beside her was nearly empty. She had always been one to handle herself when it came to drinking, but Kane never liked the element that much. He'd dealt with enough drunks in his days to realize how annoying they were to handle.

The two of them sat down at the table with Jules reaching in her pocket. She dug around a bit with her tongue sticking out to it's side as she scanned the lining of her pockets with her fingers. Finally getting a hold of what she wanted, she pulled it out, tossing it onto the table: it was a crumpled up piece of paper. Kane gave her a funny look, soon with Jules smoothing it out.

It was a sketch of some strange symbol of a sun with a shaded in heart in the middle of it.

"You guys have any idea what the heck this is?" she asked them curiously. "the mercs I've been patching up keep talking about how they saw this symbol. I can't understand what the hell they mean considering the ones who I've patched up are too scared to talk about it. Every one of them took up the job involving a cabin by the Bray Lake."

"You mean the one I was at not to long ago on that alchemist job?" Kane asked. Jules nodded.

"Yeah," she told him, "a job was posted by some worried family members about seeing if a man by the name of Harold is alright. They say he stopped contacting them weeks ago and have been worried. They're too worried to travel to his home considering the recent spike in bandits. They think he might be held captive. I just don't know what the hell THIS is."

Jules pointed at the symbol again.

"I don't know either." Kane told her honestly. Kane glanced over at Allora. "Do you?"

Allora looked curiously at the other two, wondering how it was possible for them NOT to know what the symbol was.

"That's the sun-dancer crest," she said matter-of-factly. The sun-dancers were a family of Ivory fox's. Ivory's were friendly to and often teamed up with Ebony's in battle, traded with them, and helped each other out during the winter. The sun-dancers were the royal family about forty years ago, until they disappeared. Some say drowning in Bray Lake, falling through the ice.

The sun-dancers got their name because every morning at sun-rise they would dance to honor Rascha, the sun god, for blessing them with light. Ivory's liked the day time, and lived farther north where the winters lasted longer. Ebony's tended to live more south, and were nocturnal. The city with the Black Swan Tavern was at about the halfway point between the two Clans, though the Brimstone Mountains were due west.

The sun-dancers were said to have gotten up one morning with an early freeze, the lake frozen and covered in snow. They decided to thank Rascha for the freeze by dancing on the lake. Well... it was an early freeze for a reason, and they fell right through.

Nowadays, a subgroup of Ivory's called the White Hand had decided to use the brand of the sun-dancers as their symbol, and they paraded it around, saying it gave them the right to do whatever they wanted because Rascha willed it, in the name of the sun-dancers. People got mad and didn't beieve them... until they started seeing the sun-dancers again. Not alive mind you... the White Hand were necromancers.

Since then, the Ivory's and Ebony's had been separated, no one daring to cross Bray Lake, or even go near it, for fear of being slaughtered by the undead said to be living there.

These were all just rumors, of course, but Allora relayed them in the detail that she had been learned by her Clan. They listened, nodding occasionally.

"As for the man..." Allora finished. "The White Hand needs fresh blood to do their work, that could be why they haven't heard from him." She shrugged. 'It's probably too late to find him, but it would be nice to take them down and reunite the Clans."

Kane's ears twitched, seeing the dead serious look she had about taking down the White Hand. This clearly was a subject that hit home with her. Jules had a similar look of surprise on her face.

"Well this isn't good..." Jules commented. "I knew things were bad, but not THAT bad."

Kane felt a little embarrassed that he had never heard of the Sun-Dancers, though tried to make up for his lack of knowledge by being proactive.

"I'm ready to set out and solve this issue once and for all," Kane told Jules boldly, "I don't want any more people getting harmed. I'm just…."

Kane let out a sigh, finally glancing over to Allora a little unsure. "Allora," he told her, "this is a bound to be dangerous and possibly bloody. Are you willing to accompany on such a job? I don't want you to have to live with the burden of watching lives being taken. With that said, it's bound that you're going to mixed into this fray a bit. Are you sure you're willing to take a life if you must? Do you even think you could handle yourself in such situation."

Kane quickly regretting his wording.

"I'm not saying you couldn't!" he quickly added in fear. "I just don't...um..."

Kane sighed, lowering his head, mumbling the word 'fuck' under his breath. Jules found this unusual for Kane. He was normally well spoken and rarely stumbled over his own words. She glanced over at him as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting on with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as if to portray himself in deep thought. In reality, he was trying to not to be awkward.

"Damn," Jules laughed, "you all right, Kane? I've never seen you so flustered." A smile curled on her lips. "Are you thinking about getting a little more intimate with your new friend here?"

Kane's eyes shot open with a sudden awkward jolt from the surprise. In his startled state, he leaned back too far, soon with his chair falling backwards. With a crash, he landed on his back. He let out a groan of pain, not wanting to move. Jules busted up laughing with Kane's ears folding backwards.

"N-no..." he said while laying on his back on the floor, as if to act like it were nothing. Jules was holding her sides from all of the laughter.

"I beg to differ from THAT performance!" Jules snorted, pounding her fist down on the table in her fit of laughter.

Allora snorted, watching Kane trying to right himself from falling. He was clearly nervous around her, though not because she intimidated him, but because her body did. She snorted again, watching him all tangled up in his own feet and the chair.

"I... think I could handle myself," she said, still trying not to giggle as Kane finally resided to simply sitting on the floor, playing it off like it was more comfortable anyway.

"Honestly, I haven't had much training, nor do I have a weapon..." She thought. "The people of my Clan use daggers and curved swords, usually double wielding them. Maybe you have a few extra's lying around?" she asked.

"Maybe," said Jules, thoughtfully. She scratched behind her ear absently, staring into space. Then, she snapped her fingers. "There's a lost and found behind the bar, and some old fool is bound to have left something back there for you to toy with." She looked at Kane, still on the floor. "You should get her some weapons when you have the chance. And teach her some things." She stood, headed to the bar.

"Oh," she said over her shoulder. "Things about fighting, not the kind of things you're thinking of, you pervert," she laughed. Allora snorted again.

Kane got up from the floor and dusted off his armor, acting like he didn't hear Jules, or Allora snorting. He didn't waste any time going over to the counter, with the bartender cleaning some of the flagons and humming a tune to himself. He glanced up, seeing Kane come his way.

"I don't have to make you pay for that chair you almost broke, do I?" the bartender laughed.

"They're shit anyway." Kane huffed, tired of making himself look like a fool around Allora, who was now standing beside him. "Do you think we could see what weapons you've got in the lost and found?"

"Certainly," the bartender said with a nod. "I'm getting sick of having these back here anyway."

The bartender reached under the counter, beginning to set weapons on the bar table.

There was a pair of daggers, a short sword, and a ax (that looked like it were only meant for chopping wood). Kane looked over at Allora, already assuming what she wanted.

Immediately, the daggers caught her eye. They were curved, with black leather hilts and sheaths. The leather was worn, but usable. She reached for them and picked one up in her right hand. It was poorly balanced, but once again, usable. They were heavy as well, which she didn't prefer, but she didn't mind. It was most important to her that she have a weapon and learn to use it.

"I'll take these," she said, picking them up. She fastened the sheaths on either side of her hips, where she could easily reach and unsheathe the daggers if she needed them. Kane nodded approvingly.

"Very nice," Jules said from behind them. They turned. She nodded in Allora's direction, then looked back at the table. Instead of the Sun-Dancer's symbol, in front of her was now a map. "Come over here you two."

Allora headed back over to the table, thanking the bartender for the daggers. She fixed her eyes on the map. It was a map centralized on the town of Fallen Oak, showing only a small section of the continent of Kumra. The Brimstone mountains were to the west, cutting a harsh line vertically up the side, with both the northern and southern tips of the mountain range extending far off of the edges of the map. To the east was the port city of Esteredge, and the Wilde Sea. To the south, there was the abandoned city of Blackrose, the ruins of which were said to be haunted, and the Burned Lands surrounding. It was said that the trees would never again become green in those Lands unless a great evil was overthrown, the evil said to live beneath the volcano that caused the fire itself, the fire that also destroyed Blackrose.

But it was to the north that the three furries looked. About a days travel north (in beast form) from Fallen Oak was Bray Lake, which marked the beginnings of Ivory territory, Allora knew. The path would take them through the woods, which she knew were beautiful during the autumn season, the forest floor covered with crunchy leaves. They would also have to cross a small creek, marked on the map with only a thin line. It was so small, that it did not even earn itself a name.

The creek itself though forked within the forest, with half of it heading north towards Bray Lake, being downhill into a valley, and the other half heading east and meeting up with the much larger Gyra River, that flowed into the Wilde Sea.

"Take this with you," Jules said to them, handing the map to Kane. "Though I recommend you leave tomorrow morning. You have quite the trek ahead of you."

Kane examined the map, constructing what their course would consist of in his mind. He muttered to himself, stopping the moment he realized he was zoning out while staring at the map. He stood up with his back straight, thanking Jules. He left the map on the table for the time being, looking back over to Allora, seeing her hold the dagger in her hand. They way she held it showed her inexperience. He stepped closer, worried he was too close to her in the back of his mind.

"So," he said doing his best to be confident and outspoken, as all teachers should be, "before you can walk you must first learn how to crawl. I'd ask you what you know, but from the way you're holding that, you clearly don't know much. Here."

Kane reached his hand out, grabbing onto hers. He felt his heart jump a bit from the contact of her hand against his, but told himself to be professional. He curled her fingers properly around the hilt of the knife. From where he was standing, it was difficult to do, but he managed.

"There." He told her. "Much better. Now, show my how you think you're supposed to swing that."

He took a step away from her, not wanting to get cut into.

Allora stopped for a moment, her eyes unfocusing, muttering to herself. Then, she swung, upwards from her hip across her body. She grinned, hoping it was correct, looking towards Kane for approval.

"How was that?" she asked, nervous. He took another step closer to her, and she felt her heart flutter a little bit.

Kane did his best not to put his hand against his head. He didn't want to sound like an ass, but he had to be honest with her if she were ever to learn.

"I'm normally not one to criticize," he told her, "but that was….not...good." Not wanting to make Allora feel bad, he quickly explained himself, speaking slightly faster than normal.

"It's not your fault though," he explained, "you haven't had the combat experience I've had nor have you had anyone to train you- or at least I hope not. Normally, that kind of move would have worked, but it's more of a flourish movement than it is a stable attack. When using daggers, yes, you need to be light on your feet with movement being key, however that doesn't mean you don't take up any kind of defensive stance. Here, I'll show you."

Kane, now acting out of impulse in fear of upsetting her, got behind her. He put his arms around her, grabbing onto her forearms. Trying to fix her stance, he put his foot next to hers, pushing against it to make her move into a proper stance. In doing so, he was unaware just how close his body was to hers. He motioned her arm to a sideways slash as he explained to her the importance of stance, though was unable to have her hold the knife correctly. The only way to properly explain was to get even closer to her body. That would mean literally touching up against her.

"I..." he took a deep breath, trying to stay professional. "I'm sorry, this might be a little too personal, but…."

Kane felt his heart race a bit. If he was ever going to teach her properly he had to do it. Slowly, he pushed his body against hers, able to grab onto her hands now. He adjusted the way she held the knife and the showed her the different positions it was held in for certain moves. He could feel her backside against his front along with her soft tail, unable to help his blood flow under control. He felt himself start getting shaky, making her hands shake as well on accident upon the realization he had an erection.

"S-s-s-s-s-mmmm...uh..." was as close as he could get to apologizing to her. For some reason he couldn't will himself to let go.

Allora giggled, not uncomfortable at all. "Like... THIS?" she asked, mimicking the move he had shown her, whilst purposefully pressing her backside against his erection even more. She could feel how uncomfortable he was without even having to look. She snorted, making eye contact with Jules. The two burst out laughing.

Kane let go of her, covering his face sheepishly with one hand (and his member with the other.) Allora secretly wished he hadn't let go, but didn't let it show at all. Instead, she decided to make things even more entertaining.

"Let's spar!" she suggested, excitedly. She knew fully well that she would lose, in anthropomorphic form at least. "First in this form, then beast form," she grinned. "No weapons?" She looked at Jules for confirmation.

The healer grinned and nodded. "Sounds like a good laugh. Kane, take it easy on her, why dontcha?" Several of the other people in the bar had taken notice and were beginning to gather around the two furries. Allora grinned again. _This will be interesting. _


	4. Chapter 4

Kane's head snapped side to side, clearly flustered by all of the attention. He cleared his throat, followed by an awkward cough. He hated the attention, but wasn't about to be outdone. He already had a reputation to uphold. How could he hold his head up if he turned down even a friendly sparring session. Allora put away her weapons, holding up her hands.

'Goodness,' Kane thought to himself with a sad look on his face, 'she doesn't even know what she's doing, does she?'

"Come on!" a Black Swan mercenary cried out. "Kick some ass!"

Kane rolled his eyes, looking at Allora as if to implore her to rethink this. "Come on," he told her, "we don't have to-"

Allora charged at him, swinging her arm in his direction, though not in a closed fist. It was more of an improvised karate chop. He casually moved his head out of the away, taking a side step as she flew forward, completely missing him. She turned back around with a smile on her face, appearing to have fun. At least SHE was enjoying this. Kane was in fear that he'd end up hurting her. She swung for him once again, this time having her hit deflected by his arm being raised at the right time.

He looked into her eyes, seeing that she was a little stunned by his reaction time. With a simple sweep of his foot, he knocked her off balance. She began to fall, suddenly with Kane quickly grabbing onto her. He wasn't cruel; he didn't want her landing on the dirty tavern floor.

As he caught her, his arms were wrapped around her. It almost looked romantic, with Jules starting to get a laugh out of that.

"Were you two sparring or having a moment?!" she hollered. Kane looked into Allora's eyes, feeling himself blush.

Allora blushed as well, but quickly recovered, pushing herself away from Kane and standing back from him. "And... I think you won that one," she admitted, still smiling. The men in the tavern hooted and hollered, congratulating Kane. She smiled bigger, and clapped as well.

"But now, it's my turn." And with that, she shifted into her beast form, feeling her armor falling off of her, but her scarf remaining snugly fastened just how she liked it. The crowd backed up, moving tables and chairs to create a decent sized circle.

She squared her paws, finally comfortable, but winced, forgetting about her sprained ankle. 'It will only be for a second, I'll be fine,' she thought to herself. She favored her leg, though still remained perfectly balanced.

Kane shifted as well, his armor falling to the floor, with a pair of softer cloth shorts remaining on his back legs. He struggled to get the rest of the armor off, wiggling and shaking it. She laughed inside her head, unable to laugh as a fox.

Finally, he was out, and the two squared up. This time, she waited for him to make the first move. He was clearly inexperienced in his beast form, nearly stumbling over his paws, his tail wagging wildly from nerves. She stood calm, still, tail perfectly straight for balance.

He lunged, shoulder first, hoping to knock her over and pin her, but she was too quick. Allora bent her knees and ran towards him as he did to her, using her small size to her advantage. She slipped between his legs sideways, using her own shoulder to knock one of his paws out from under him. She stood once more, having gone completely under his body like a tunnel. He skid across the floor, having expected to hit something and instead having his paw knocked out from under him with his momentum having no goal.

He landed on his side, but stood quickly once more, baring his teeth slightly out of instinct. Allora once again stood calm, playing the waiting game. They began to pace in a slow circle, Kane's fur raising up once again out of feral instinct.

He lunged again, this time leading with his teeth. He stumbled over his paws as he ran towards her, not picking up as much speed as he could. Allora waited until the last possible second, and sidestepped, jumping onto his back as he passed her. Kane, confused, turned his head backward, snapping at the air, letting his momentum carry him this time into a wall. He stumbled back a few steps. Allora, still hanging on tight, began shaking her body back and forth, finally managing to get him to fall over sideways. She gently clamped her teeth around his neck. "I win," she mumbled into his fur in beast speak.

Kane's face showed that he was completely in shock. She had bested him, something that nobody had ever done before. Granted, he was rarely in his beast from, sticking to his anthropomorphic form instead, having favored it throughout the years. She let go of his neck with Kane sitting on the floor, seeing how happy Allora was. She looked so cute in her beast from. Her ears, her soft tail- her everything. He felt his tail wagging, though had the moment taken from him from all the laughter.

"You got beat by a chick!" a mercenary shouted.

"I thought you were better than THAT!" another mercenary shouted. Clearly none of them meant any disrespect by this, being half drunk and only joking. Kane however took it to heart a bit, lowering his head down. He didn't say much after that, grabbing onto his gear with his teeth, dragging it to his room. The only thing he was unable to get was his sword and boots, that laid there on the tavern floor.

"Good job." he told her through his teeth. "I'll...be right back. I need to shift back into my anthro form."

Allora yipped, not even quite a word, even in beast speak. She was so excited about being good at something, and showing off a little bit. Her "Yip!" was more of a laugh, as she watched Kane back into his room. She of course shifted back into her anthro form with no qualms at all, having her scarf wrapped just perfectly around her. A tug here, an adjustment there, and it was good as new. She felt the eyes of the men on her body as she bent at the waist to gather her armor. 'I need to enchant this somehow,' she thought, 'so it shifts with me, covering me in beast form as well as anthro, without having to change.'

Once she had her armor back on, she grab Kane's sword and boots that were still on the ground, and headed to his room. The crowd had dispersed, and she received a few drunken congratulatory slaps on the back as she passed. She nodded to them in thanks, as they headed back to their tables and bar stools. She headed up the stairs, swishing her tail back and forth behind herself happily.

She made sure to check herself in the full length mirror in the hall, before entering his room. Her ears and tail were still covered nicely and completely black, and she nodded to herself, checking to make sure she was still the color of midnight. No white showed, but she knew that soon she would need to cover her markings in charcoal once again. Her fur looked dusty, being dirty from rolling around on the tavern floor, and she knew she would need a bath before setting off for Bray lake the next morning. She adjusted her whiskers, twitched her ears, checked her tail, and wondered in the back of her mind why she was making sure she looked... pretty, before entering his room. At that thought, she turned from the mirror, and barged in.

Kane had been sitting on his bed with his back facing where the door was. His heart jumped when the sound of his door being burst open. In his panic, he had forgotten the he were still completely naked. Without even realizing he bared not even a stitch of clothes, he swung around, taking up a fighting stance out of reflex. He stood there, seeing Allora. He blushed, feeling a sudden breeze from the open door. He glanced down, seeing his "glory" and all. His face flushed red behind his white fur, quickly covering himself up.

"H-hey!" he said panicked, making sure to properly shield his privates. "What the h-hell?! You ever h-hear of a t-t-th-thing called nuh-knocking!"

His embarrassment made him stutter like an idiot.

Luckily, the southern area wasn't the first place Allora normally looked when seeing someone. But her eyes were drawn downward as Kane's paws quickly flew to cover himself. She gasped and quickly shut the door, squinting her eyes closed even as she stood back in the hallway.

"Sorry!" she called, hearing bumping and stumbling from the other side of the door. "I thought I had given you enough time to get dressed!"

She felt horrible, tail between her legs, as she stood outside of his room waiting. She kept her eyes squinted shut even still, her right paw on the door handle and her left carrying Kane's things.

Kane could be heard mumbling to himself about how stupid he felt, with self loathing taking it's course.

"It's fine," he said nearly in a growl, not mad at her; he was mad at himself. For everything. "Just come inside, I don't care. I've got underwear on."

Allora entered, still shielding her face slightly. She finally lowered her hand, watching as Kane dressed himself. He was clearly still shy about the whole ordeal, pulling on his armor one piece at a time.

"I...um...I dunno what your plans are for tonight. Did you still have stuff you wanted to do and where were you gonna sleep? I mean, I'm willing to...share my bed if you want."

Kane felt himself getting awkward, thinking about sleeping next to Allora. There suddenly was a lost look in his eyes. He shook his head, forgetting where he was for a moment. Due to his dirty thoughts about Allora, he slipped while trying to pull on his leather armor, falling on the floor. He let out an "ump" as he hit the ground, followed by a sigh.

"Can today get any worse?..." he mumbled to himself, feeling utter defeat.

Allora suddenly stiffened, wondering where the heck she actually was going to sleep. Long ago she had trained her body to no longer be nocturnal, just as other Ebony warriors did. But... it had been long since she had slept in a bed... inside... The day before when she was passed out didn't count in her mind.

She made up her mind boldly. "I'll... sleep here," she declared, trying to sound decisive. "That is, if you don't mind…"

Waiting for his response, she set his things down next to the dresser. She took off her own armor as well, leaving her once again in just her scarf. In the angled lighting, one could see her lean muscles defined by her black fur. Her legs were perfect, with her thighs and backside being her favorite part of her body. She moved to the bathroom, heading to check her tips one last time.

Kane swallowed nervously. He didn't know if it were a mistake or not to offer letting her sleep with him. He'd never slept in the same bed with another woman, let alone was used to any physical contact. He awkwardly sat there, realizing there was no point to wearing his armor in bed. Or perhaps...he should? Kane shook his head.

"Are you an idiot?" he growled at himself. "Who on earth SLEEPS in their armor?"

Kane frantically thought to himself as Allora was in the bathroom. Maybe if he acted casual he wouldn't be so awkward. Kane slowly began to strip his armor away once again, setting it aside down beside the bed. The bed itself wasn't huge, but two people could sleep on it if they slept close beside each other.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked himself.

Kane awkwardly got into bed, pulling the covers over him, just lying there. He stared up at the ceiling, awaiting Allora to exit the bathroom.

Allora stared at herself in the mirror, wetting down some of the fur on her muzzle that had gotten out-of-whack during the wrestling. Her green eyes looked very bright in the candle light of the bathroom. She stared herself in the eye, getting a grip on her emotions. She wasn't even sure why she was having a sudden emotional break down, but she sure as hell wasn't about to do it in front of Kane.

'But what would Jake say?' her consciousness asked her once again. She shook her head back and forth.

"Jake doesn't own me. I don't even like him," she growled to herself. She smoothed her fur on her arms down to her paws, getting some of the dust off to make it more shiny.

'But what would he thing? You're going to sleep with a wolf,' her head told her. She squinted her eyes shut, taking uneven breaths.

"Not like that though..." She grumbled. Right? Of course she wasn't going to mess around with the wolf. The incredibly attractive... mysterious wolf that saved her life... and was so good at fighting... and so good with his hands...

'No!' she thought. But she wasn't too sure. She looked at her body in the mirror again. Her scarf complimented her breasts perfectly, covering them at the perfect angle to be sexy but not slutty. And she knew it. And she could see her hard nipples poking through the fabric...

'Fuck!' she thought, breathing deeply, trying to think of non sexual things. But it was futile. 'Why am I so turned on!'

She took a few more deep breaths, and just hoped to the Gods that it was dark enough with the sun now set that he wouldn't notice. She opened the door and boldly walked out of the bathroom.

She saw Kane, already in bed, and so she took the open side. She pulled the covers up, and eased her way on to the mattress. A real mattress! For a second she got really excited and forgot all about her predicament, and snuggled down into the soft bed. It was only after that she realized that she had rubbed her entire length of body all along Kane's side, her tail brushing against his stomach and hip.

Kane felt himself get turned on, trying to act like he didn't notice. Their bodies were pressed against each other slightly with Kane trying his best not to think of dirty thoughts. It wasn't fair to her; the thought alone of HER wanting HIM was ridiculous. He literally had nothing to offer, and yet, the thought of her body up on his. The smell of her fur. He wondered how soft her breasts must feel like. The taste of her nipples. His hands on her ass, massaging her butt playfully. The feeling of-

Kane felt himself getting hard, unable to stop the sensation. A wave of panic overcame him, feeling his member poke into her backside. Like the awkward wolf he was, he rolled around in bed, facing his back towards her and covered his head.

"S-shit..." he whined to himself. He looked down at his member in frustration "Go away~!" he whispered to himself, as if trying to will his erection away.

Allora giggled as she felt Kane turn. It was very gentlemanlike of him to do that, and she respected it greatly, even if it only turned her on more. She sighed to herself, knowing that it was probably a bad idea anyway. She barely knew the wolf! She shook her head, wondering what she had been thinking. She needed to get to know him first. Maybe if this adventure goes well...

She closed her eyes, and slowed her breathing, trying to get some sleep. Soon, she was out like a light.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Allora woke up earlier than Kane, and slipped into her armor quietly so as not to wake him. She knew they would be traveling in anthro form to the lake because of her ankle. It hadn't helped that she had wrestled with Kane in beast form the day before, and she was sure feeling it today. She decided to find Jules herself before they left.

Jules was up already as well, drinking coffee and tending to a human man with an ugly gash on his calf. She was sewing him up, and he didn't show any sign of being in pain whatsoever. He laughed at a joke Jules was telling as I reached the table.

"Ah, Allora!" she exclaimed. "How did you sleep?" She winked in the fox's direction.

"Very well actually, and not like you'd think!" she made sure to clarify. Jules smirked and looked back at her work, her fingers expertly sewing up the laceration. "Anyway," Allora continued. "Can you make sure my ankle is set decently before we set off?"

"Of course dear," she agreed, still focused on sewing.

Once the man was good to go, she turned to Allora, motioning for her to sit down. It took no time at all for her to make a stiff cast that she could wear under her armor. "But no shifting forms for a while, okay?" she said strictly. "I don't care what Kane's fetishes are."

Allora felt her face grow red, but she simply nodded. The sun had been coming up steadily as they worked, and now she simply was to wait for Kane.

Kane awoke from a nightmare he had. His eyes shot open, feeling them watering a little from the fright and sorrow. He laid there in bed, staring up at the ceiling. His ears were folded back as he placed his hands on his head, covering his eyes as be began to suddenly weep. Tears streamed down the fur on his face as he lost his ability to keep it together. He didn't even fully understand why he was crying; the blood he'd spilled, the people he'd lost, the pain of living a life alone. Perhaps all of them.

Kane finally managed to stop his crying, forcing himself to get up out of bed. He slept horribly that night, only getting sleep here and there when his penis wasn't keeping him awake. All he could think about was sexual things the night before. And when he wasn't thinking about sex he was thinking about how lonely he was and how much he wanted to reach out and hold Allora he feel her body against his.

Kane got dressed, holstered his sword to his belt, and slipped on his boots. He grabbed the few things he needed before leaving out the door.

Kane entered the infirmary area of the Black Swan, noticing Jules patching up a Black Swan mercenary.

"Hey there, lucky," Jules winked. "Allora says you too didn't get down and dirty; she's probably just too modest though."

Kane sigh under his breath, rolling his eyes.

"We didn't do anything." Kane assured her sounding frustrated. He glanced over in Allora's direction. His eyes were still red from the tears he'd shed earlier that morning, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"You ready?" he asked her.

Allora nodded in his direction, favoring her right leg for the moment. She knew her sprained left ankle was going to get enough of a beating in the next day or so. In anthro form, it would take the two close to three days to reach the cabin by the lake. She had no idea what awaited them.

She found herself wondering exactly what would happen between her and Kane as well on this miniature adventure. She had made sure to re-apply some charcoal to her white markings, covering them once again in her semi-permanent solution. As long as he didn't know her secret, he would still respect her as an full Ebony, and this comforted her.

They left the Black Swan, thanking Jules for her help. They had decided to hunt on their way north, that way they would not have to carry bags of food, and would just be able to eat when they became hungry. Allora hoped that during some of their downtime at night, maybe Kane would actually teach her how to use her daggers.

Hiking on foot in her anthro form through the woods was actually a new experience for Allora. She had only ever been in the woods in her beast form. She enjoyed the crunch of the autumn leaves beneath her feet as she walked, several yards in front of Kane. She was wrapped up in her own joyful thoughts, dancing to the music in her head. She moved her feet to the unheard rhythm, swaying her hips as she did so.

Kane followed closed behind Allora, not really liking the fact that she was taking the lead. She didn't know how to use her daggers and had little to no combat experience. The woods they were trekking through wasn't necessarily the safest, though Kane wasn't about to mention that to her. Being a little naive, at least for the time being, would probably be a little easier due to the situation. He didn't want her getting paranoid and drag her feet in fear. Though, considering her high level of energy, he doubted that would ever happen. He sort of wished he could take some of that energy she had for himself.

Kane's mind wandered, not really saying much as he walked.

"How's your ankle doing?" he inquired, wondering if she were going to need to take a break any time soon.

Allora slowed to walk beside Kane. "It's fine," she said, thinking. The wrap job that Jules had done was better than she could have hoped for. It really helped her leg stay stiff. But she knew it wouldn't last forever. "We might need to take a short break in the next few hours... just so I can sit for a while. Maybe we can eat then too!"

The two kept walking, this time with Allora walking beside Kane. The sun had not yet reached its apex in the sky, so she knew they still had hours left of walking. Of walking... and not really talking. She knew it was going to get boring... but she didn't quite want to ask anything too direct about Kane's past just yet.

"Um... how old are you?" she blurted. randomly, simply trying to make conversation. She glanced away from Kane into the woods to hide eyes, scared he would see how unsure of herself she was around him sometimes.

Kane wasn't even fully focused on the question. "20" he told her very dryly. He glanced over at her, seeing the uncertainty in her gaze. He frowned, wondering what she was thinking.

'She's probably laughing at how pathetic I am or something,' he thought to himself.

"Any other questions?" he asked, sounding harsher than he meant to.

She continued looked away, feeling sheepish for asking. "N-no," she stammered. "I'm 18." She didn't know why she added the last part, she would just always answer her own questions that she asked others. It was a personal quirk.

She watched between the trees, her eyes avoiding Kane's. Occasionally she would see a rabbit or mouse scuttling under the dry leaves. The trees were beautiful, with colors of red, orange, yellow, and green speckled throughout. It was mid-autumn, and a warm day for such. The blue sky was apparent above their heads, sometimes making itself visible through the canopy. The mixture of colors made Allora feel alive. She had always loved the forest, even more than the Brimstone Mountains sometimes. She breathed a deep sigh, smelling everything around her with her exceptional sense of smell.

She glanced at Kane again, but quickly looked away, not wanting to bother him with more questions.

Kane realized how harsh he had sounded, feeling himself get a little uncomfortable (as always). He put his fist up to his mouth, clearing his throat. His eyes kept to the path leading toward the lake with his ears twitching from the sound of a branch snapping underneath his foot.

"Do you have any family?" Kane asked out of nowhere, not even sure if it were a topic he should be bringing up. Kane looked over at Allora, finally forcing himself to act like a normal person around her, making sure he looked at her eyes and nowhere else.

"Sorry," Kane apologized. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I know life can be hard. I guess I ask because I never really got to know mine."

There was a lost look in his eyes, still focused on Allora however.

Startled by a question, Allora did a double take. "Y-yes..." she began, thinking of exactly how much she wanted to tell him. She couldn't let him know the reason she had been disowned; that her white markings from the dragonkind marked her as cursed. Her family had never told her why the dragon had blessed her birth, they only knew that the 'blessing' had cursed their lives.

The village labeled them as outcasts, and their family had been forced to publicly disown her, and banish her to the woods at the base of the mountain. She understood they had done it to save their family name, and in return she had changed her own name, covered her fur in charcoal, and joined up with a traveling Ebony caravan of warriors and merchants.

This is where she had met Jake. The foxes from the Brimstone, no matter the gender, were trained to be the greatest warriors in the land. In other Ebony clans however, the females were not allowed to be trained for battle. So, while Allora worked as a minor healer with the caravan, Jake took quite the interest in her, the pig he was, and when she could not take it anymore, she claimed to have to leave on her own personal agenda, and took to the woods soon after, masquerading as a true fox with no anthro form.

"My... family doesn't like me much," she evaded, eyes cast down. "I left when I was young to travel on my own."

Kane frowned.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he told her, not wanting to press further on the subject. However, he felt she was not telling him the full story. Even so, he knew there was no sense in prying. It wasn't his place. His mind began to wander, thinking about his home life. He'd been alone ever since he was a kid. He grew up in a small village, having no father or mother to raise him. He made his money by doing odd chores that the villagers needed going: cleaning chimneys, fixing fences- he was even paid to spy on a man after the the man's wife suspected him of cheating on her. Kane had done it all, working his entire life for everything he had. He chose to become an adventurer and mercenary when he was 14. The rest was history.

"So," Kane asked her, changing the subject quickly. "I bet you get a lot of attention." He looked at her figure, wondering if he had said too much. He quickly looked away, acting like he had never looked in the first place.

Allora looked down at herself, from her angle seeing her smaller than average chest. Remembering not to get too down, she turned to look at her backside, which was her favorite part of her body. Her hips were wider than average, and her legs muscular. She was not only curvy and sexy, but also a fast runner.

"I suppose," she said shyly, knowing full well she did. Not when they looked at her from the front, but when she turned to walk away. She could nearly feel their eyes burning into her backside as she would mosey off. Especially at the caravan.

Thinking about this, she took a few steps in front of Kane as they walked, swishing her fluffy tail from side to side with her hips as she walked along.

Kane helplessly glanced at her backside, watching as her tail swished from side to side. He felt his face get a little warm. She had been acting odd ever since they had met and if he didn't know any better he would have thought she was flirting with him. But he DID know better. He had never been wanted by the opposite sex and if anything she was probably just really confident about who she was. Kane frowned, knowing all too well that a woman like her would have men all over her. He had been down the road of trying to fight for affection. After nearly getting himself killed in the name of "love" more than once he had come to the acceptance of being alone. He looked up at the sky, staring at the clouds drifting by.

"Hopefully the weather stays nice," Kane said, chancing the painful subject.

Allora absentmindedly swished her tail around to her front, taking it in her paws and stroking her soft fur. She was checking to see if the charcoal still covered its white tip which, of course, it did. She walked a little slower, with Kane catching up on her left. The two walked in silence.

Several hours later, with the sun just beginning to fall, she requested that they stop and rest. Her ankle was only just starting to bother her, but she didn't want it to even start to get bad. She knew that rest was key in keeping it from swelling up like a watermelon. She propped it up when she sat, letting the blood flow easier.

The two sat under a large oak tree, with orange and yellow leaves raining down upon them each time the wind gusted. She sat on a rock, her foot propped up on a branch comfortably while she rested. She took from her small pack she had been given a small waterskin, squeezing a stingy amount into her muzzle. Her stomach growled, and she looked down.

For a second she thought about shifting, planning ahead, but then remembered that she wasn't allowed to shift because of her paw... She hadn't thought about that when thinking about how they were going to get food. She shyly looked over towards Kane. "I'm hungry... and I just remembered that I can't shift. I can't hunt..." she said sheepishly, feeling foolish for having been so absentminded.

Kane chuckled, standing up from underneath the oak tree. He cracked his neck, giving her a smile.

"Sure thing," he told her. "I'll be back in a little bit."

Kane undid the sheath on his belt, tossing down his sword next to her.

"I"m not going to be needing this," he said, taking the knife out from his boot. With flourish, he spun the knife on his finger, tossed it in the air, then caught it with the blade facing downwards. "I won't be long," he told her, forcing himself to act happy. He turned, walking away in the direction of the thicker wooded area of the forest.


	6. Chapter 6

Kane left Allora under the tree, making his way deeper into the forest. He had placed his dagger in an upper sheath on his torso of the armor he wore. His eyes wandered, looking at the leaves of the trees. The forest floor was covered in dead leaves, with the occasional scurry of a field mouse or other small rodent running by. Kane however was not interested in small game. At least, not that small.

Kane's ear twitched, with him suddenly stopping. He looked over his shoulder, holding his breath to hear better. His ears were erect as he stood there motionlessly. He furrowed his brow.

"Hmm." Kane turned back around. "I swore I-"

An arrow shot into his shoulder, with Kane letting out a yell. He landed on his back, gritting his teeth. He closed his eyes, his breath shallowing.

With with the bandit that had shot him lowering his bow, he smiled.

"Too easy," he said amused. The bandit, dressed in rough leather with his bow in hand, walked over to the anthropomorphic wolf that laid there motionlessly on the ground.

The bandit stood over him, seeing that the wolf was completely out for, lying with its eyes closed. The bandit was surprised that the wolf was so easily taken out with and arrow shot into it's shoulder.

"Guess I hit something important," he snickered, kneeling over Kane. "I don't know much about you freaks. Now, let's see what you got." The bandit looked at the empty sheath on Kane's torso, confused. "Looks like somebody didn't bring a weapon into the woods. Bad move."

There was a sudden jolt from Kane, having the dagger hidden under the leaves of the forrest floor. He stabbed the bandit in the neck, seeing the life drain from his eyes.

"Yeah," Kane said bearing his teeth as the bandit tried to breath, chocking to death on his own blood. "Bad fucking move, pal."

After removing the arrow and hastily patching his wound with some of the supplies his attacker had, Kane looted the bandit, finding some food rations: plenty of dried meat, some bread, and even some fruit all in a bag the bandit had stashed behind a tree. Kane painfully made his way back to the tree Allora was under.

After making sure Kane was out of sight, Allora pulled her pack across her body and unzipped the top. She pulled out a stick of charcoal, keeping her eyes on the tree line in case he were to come back. After scanning the forest one more time, she began to rub the charcoal on the tree bark to rough it up, afterwards rubbing it on the tip of her tail and left paw. When she was satisfied, she rubbed it on her paws, soon after re-covering her ears and eyes.

Suddenly, she heard rustling to her right. She quickly put the charcoal back into her pack, just in time too. Kane came stumbling out of the woods, holding his left shoulder in pain. "Kane!" she gasped, standing quickly, not even wincing on her leg due to the adrenaline. "What happened?"

She walked towards him holding out her hands, trying to get him to let her see it, when she heard more rustling behind her. Her ear swiveled as she paused. "He went this way!' a voice called. "I thought I heard him shoot!"

"Well move then we don't want him taking it all for himself!" said another. There was some snickering. And without warning, three more bandits appeared in their clearing.

"Where is Sean?" said one of the bandits.

"Who cares, look what we have here!" said another. He spat on the ground. "Fuckin' animals."

They started making their way towards Allora hungrily.

"Take care of the wolf," said one, who appeared to be the leader. "I don't think I want to kill this beast just yet." His eyes travelled up and down Allora's body.

She shifted then, startling the men. Her scarf stayed on her, but she was tangled in her armor. It took her a second for her to wiggle out, but the men were already on her. "Rowl!" she growled, snapping at his ankle. He let her go when her teeth broke skin, and she slipped between his legs to turn and face them from behind.

Two were headed towards Kane, and she sprinted in their direction.

Kane's eyes dilated, seeing the two bandits coming his direction. Despite the pain he was in, his reaction time was still as sharp as ever. He pulled out the dagger on his front torso sheath, baring it with the blade pointing upward, holding it normally.

The first bandit came at him swinging with the second not to far behind. Kane ducked as the bandit swung his sword at him, missing completely. Kane once again avoided being stuck by the bandit's sword, deflecting the blade strike with the dagger, having to have excellent precision to make sure he didn't end up getting his hand chopped off while at the same time have enough strength to stagger the bandit back.

As the first bandit stumbled backwards, the second came at Kane with a lunge, with Kane's side being grazed with a cut, barely scratching his armor.

Kane kicked the second bandit in the knee, making a cracking sound as the bandit fell down on his side. Kane in his rage literally threw down the dagger at the bandit, stabbing him right in the heart, killing him in an instant as he laid on the grass below.

Kane's ears stood up, hearing the sound of air swooshing behind him. He ducked once again with the remaining bandit's blade nearly cutting his ear. Kane raised his fists, being unarmed, still with the bandit waving a sword at him, with Kane dodging out of the way every time.

"Quit! Fucking! Moving!" the bandit yelled, saying a word with every swing. Kane had no intention on allowing himself to be sliced in half with his blade however, continuing to make his way out of the potential blows.

"Kane!" Allora cried in beast-speak. She lunged onto the back of the bandit that was attempting to fillet Kane. Her claws dug into his armor and skin as she literally climbed his back to his neck.

"Get off you animal!" he snarled, swinging his sword up behind his back, attempting to bludgeon Allora off of him with it. She held on, and dug her teeth into the back of his neck. It wasn't a lethal bite, because she only bit into his bone, not his jugular, but it sure was painful.

"Argh!" cried the bandit, dropping his sword. He had backed into the tree, and began slamming his body against it, smashing Allora over and over again. But she refused to let go. She kept her paws extended, trying to soften the blows to her ribs. Faintly she remembered that she wasn't supposed to shift to beast form because of her ankle. After this, Kane would really need to show her how to use daggers.

"Yipe!" she whined, with it being muffled by the skin and blood in her mouth.

Kane quickly reached down, taking out the dagger that had been plunged into the dead bandit he had just killed. He yanked out the blood covered blade, turning to see Allora being bashed up against a tree in her beast form. Knowing that it was too deadly of a risk to use a blade with Allora so close to the bandit, he sheathed his dagger, running up to the bandit who was more focused on getting Allora off of him then Kane himself.

Kane swung his fist into the bandit's face, hitting him square in the jaw. With a fury of angry punches, Kane had made the bandits face fairly bloody, also kneeing the bandit in the nuts, something he typically didn't do. However, this man had harmed Allora, therefore there was no honor in this fight.

With Allora letting go, Kane grabbed the dazed bandit by the neck, lifting him in the air, then proceeded to throw him over his shoulder with a grunt. The bandit hit the ground hard, soon with Kane on top of him. He pinned him down, soon whaling on his face. The bandit stopped fighting after what must have been the ninth punch to the face, soon with Kane covered in blood. The bandit was dead, with Kane having killed him barehanded.

Slowly Kane stood up with blood still on the fur of his hands. He was breathing hard, actually letting out growling noises as he tried to calm down, unable to help but snarl at the brute that tried to hurt Allora. It took him a minute, forcing himself to settle down. He could feel Allora's eyes on him.

Watching, slightly terrified, mostly impressed, the fox girl shifted back into her anthropomorphic form, tying her scarf around her body before Kane turned and saw. She couldn't walk, her ankle having been badly damaged in the fight. She sat on the ground, finding her pack and attempting to set her ankle as best she could. It was throbbing, a painful beating pulse, and she winced when she rested it on the ground.

Soon, she began to process the anger and violence that she had just witnessed. There had been three of them, and with Kane having come out of the forest injured in the first place, she suspected there had been more. But they were all dead. All of them.

"Are you okay?" she asked cautiously, wondering if he were still feral. That was what they called it, at least the Ebony's. When a furry was enraged, losing too much of their senses, going wild... it usually died down, but the adrenaline was usually still there. "Do you need help?" she asked again.

She remained sitting on the ground, looking around, conflicted. 'How are we supposed to get to Bray Lake with my ankle like this?' she thought to herself. Dejected, she looked down, feeling like a burden. Again.

For a second Kane had almost forgotten where he was. The smell of blood was in his in his nose and all he saw was red. With each breath he released a growl, sounding like a feral animal. He blinked, realizing how terrifying he sounded. Kane shook his head, taking a deep inhale and tried to get his breathing back to normal. Forcing a smile, he asked for Allora to repeat herself.

After she did, Kane looked down at her wounded ankle with a frown.

"That's certainly going to slow us down a bit," he told her honestly. He thought to himself for a moment. Completely disregarding his own injuries, Kane tossed the bandit bag he'd taken over towards Allora, once again turning in the direction of the woods.

"I'll be right back," he told her. "There's some dry meat, bread, and some fruit in the bag I got. Help yourself; I know you said you were hungry."

Without looking back, Kane hurried into the deeper part of the woods, looking for what he needed.

"But what where-" she tried to ask, but he was already gone. Having no idea what he was doing, she took out a bit of meat and fruit, gnawing on them while she thought. After a bit of waiting, she decided to be useful and search the bandits.

She wasn't disappointed. While they didn't have much coin on them, she found some beautiful shiny jewelry, a few glittering stones, and some glittery black powder. The powder she soon realized was a smoke powder, one that exploded when thrown hard enough at the ground, providing a smokescreen and allowing the user to make a quick getaway. She, having an idea, sprinkled some of that in her tail fur. If she needed to, she could whack her tail against something, causing the powder to react and explode in an emergency.

There was one more thing she was particularly interested in. It was a sun shaped symbol, with a shaded in heart in the center... "Gods," she mumbled. It was the sun-dancer crest; the symbol of the white hand. They must have been hiring bandits to capture their victims, performing their dark magic on unwilling travelers.

Kane returned from the woods, holding something green in his hand. He walked steadily, feeling himself get a little tired; he had been running around a lot more than usual. He saw Allora still under the oak tree, still holding what was in his hand with a firm grasp.

"Looks like we're in luck. I found some tonic leaves. I can make make a syrup-like goo out of these things to help heal your ankle."

He said this with a faint smile, though was a little distracted by the bodies. If they didn't want to attract anything their way he knew they would have to either leave before nightfall or toss them elsewhere. He glanced down at them, suddenly realizing they had the sun-dancer crests on them. How he hadn't noticed before was beyond him.

"Looks like there's more to this than we thought..." he mumbled to himself, still holding onto the tonic leaves.

"I don't think they're after anyone specific," Allora mumbled, staring at the crests herself. "They're just after blood. Fresh blood." She looked up at Kane. "The White Hand needs fresh blood for their dirty magic, and furry, human, dwarf, or elf, any blood is going to suit them."

Noticing what he carried, she nodded. "If you say so..." she said, trusting his intuition. At this rate, anything that could numb or heal her leg was going to help. It continued to pulse, though was dulling. This would be comforting, if the sensation in her pads hadn't been fading too. She knew her body was simply numbing the pain; it wasn't getting better. "We're going to have to cut where the injury is... and let the sap get on the inside." Nervous, she pulled out one of her daggers. "I... I don't know if I can cut into myself," she admitted.

Kane was taken back by this with his mouth dropping open. Instinct told him he should take the dagger from her by force in fear she'd hurt herself, though he knew better. His eyes were widened in fear, quickly shaking his head to the point of his ears wiggling a little.

"N-no!" he told her quickly. "Are you insane?! You can massage it in through your skin! J-just put the knife away!"

A few minutes passed, with Kane successfully creating a tonic paste, putting it into a small vial (luckily he found one on one of the bandits.) He looked at Allora, holding the paste in his hand.

"This might sting a little," he told her. "Avoid moving too much."

Allora, of course, immediately tensed up at this warning. Kane took the paste in his palms and rubbed it together, warming it. He then parted the fur on her ankle, rubbing the serum into her skin. There was a dull burn, but the new pain replaced the throbbing ache and felt much better. "Ah..." she sighed reflexively, enjoying the feeling.

The serum wouldn't heal her ankle completely, but it would numb the pain, and help the process along. She took her wrap that had fallen off from her shifting, re-wrapping her ankle nice and tight, both to seal in the serum and set the joint. "I think it's gonna be fine," she said, getting slowly to her feet. She could put some weight on it, almost as much as before the fight, and she knew she would be able to walk.

She picked her pack off the ground, slinging it on and taking a few steps forward. "We should be heading out soon," she said, looking to the North. "We've been here longer than we should have been."

Kane nodded, knowing that leaving before dark to cause as little suspicion as possible would be best. He stood, his own pack already on, with him having applied the same healing serum to his shoulder in the forest.

"Well, let's get going then."


End file.
